The structure of the World Cup has been ripped up and altered after the FIFA council approved a new proposal.

The 2026 tournament will now include 48 teams, rather than the traditional 32 who compete for the coveted trophy.

At a meeting in Zurich today, the council unanimously agreed to expand the competition, according to BBC Sport.

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So, what does it all mean for the format? Well, there will be 16 groups from A to P with three teams in each, and the top two nations will qualify for the knockout rounds of the last 32.

In total, 80 matches will be played in the expanded tournament, which will run for 32 days.

The overhaul of the World Cup structure has raised eyebrows, mainly because of the significant revenue for FIFA.

The world governing body found through its own research that the new-look tournament could rake in a potential increase of £521m.

This is the first time since 1998 that the World Cup has had reform.

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